Shattered
by Blueh
Summary: 10-year-old Ace has been having these weird dreams about himself and Luffy as grown-ups. He didn't think anything of it until a certain man wearing a Straw hat decides to randomly pop out of nowhere. Literally. Time-travel!fic
1. The pain of knowing

**Shattered**

** Ch.1—The pain of knowing**

What are nightmares? What are bad dreams? How do they affect a person? _Why _do they affect people? What's so scary about a stupid dream? It's not like it real. Right?

But no, some dreams can be very, _very _real and very, _very _scary. Ace had to learn about this the hard way.

* * *

_10-year-old Ace was in the middle of a battlefield with no clue what the hell was happening. War raged around him, insults were thrown, swords clashed, bullets bounced everywhere and cannons nearly blasted the small kid's ears out._

_Ace was never really the type of person to get scared easily, but here, right now, he wanted to piss in his pants and cry to Luffy and Sabo, wherever they were .He felt so insignificant, like an ant in a human house. He wanted to cry out, yell at the people to stop. He wanted to do _something, _yet his voice wouldn't word, his legs were glued in place. Fear rooted his to the exact spot he was standing. _

_The people danced around his in graceful motions, almost as if he wasn't even there. He heard a lot of yelling, something about the prisoner getting away with Mugiwara. _

_Whoever the hell that was._

_ Why would Ace care? Why was he even here? What happened to his brothers that he wanted by his side so dearly? _

_"There!" Someone shouted, pointing to a spot where the ground had erupted in flames. "It's Hiken and Mugiwara! Get them! We can let them escape! Kill them! Justice will prevail!"_

_Justice? Where these guys insane? How can killing someone bring justice? It only brings sadness. Loneliness. Then something in the back of Ace's mind clicked. Ah, these idiots were marines. Figures. _

_It was then, when he started to notice the details that never reached his brain before, such as the caps that the word 'marine' written across the top with blue bubble letters, and the skull and cross bone tattoo that some of the other men carried. _

_That explained why they were fighting, but why were they so intent on killing only two people? 'Hiken' and 'Mugiwara' who were they? Ace had been studying pirates for a long time now. He knew whom the government wanted dead at all costs, but yet, he had never heard of these names before. _

_Suddenly, two figures burst through the wall of marines. He heard someone cry 'they're here!' before everyone started firing at them. It took less than two seconds before the group of marines was completely demolished. Ace stared in awe at them, how could someone move like that? With such perfect teamwork? Sure, Ace, Luffy and Sabo could work together great, but this was different. These two could know what the other was doing without even looking at each other. These two people had known each other for years and have been fighting together even longer. _

_The smoke that surrounded Ace lifted, and he found his feet could move again. He stumbled forwards, towards the sound of yelling and the two figures that were called 'Hiken' and 'Mugiwara'. Ace didn't know why, he just felt drawn to them, like they were a light and he was a fly. He felt like a fly—being so tiny in this big battlefield. He felt as if he made one wrong move, he'd die. Simple as that. _

_He pushed past the marines; nearly freaking out when he passed harmlessly though them. Just what the hell was happening? Was he dead? Ace thought hell would be a bit more fiery and hell like. He never stopped running though; he had to keep going to find what he was looking for. _

_Finally—Finally! He was near enough to see the marines' targets. Ace was shocked to say the least; having yourself and your brother in front of you isn't someone thing someone would expect. Ever. Even if this was just some stupid dream. _

_But why did it feel so real? _

_Ace could feel it in his bones; something was about to happen, so he followed the two imposters (What? He wasn't just going to roll over and accept that he was dreaming of himself and an older version of Luffy!) Across the battlefield. _

_The next events happened so fast that Ace could barley keep up. _

_Akainu. He was saying horrible things about a man that Ace had only vaguely heard about. Then there was a battle. Lava covered fire. Everyone was watching. Luffy crumbled. Lava was about to kill him._

_No, no, no, no, no, no. Not Luffy!_

_Then a purple mark was in front of him, stopping the lava. Stopping the blow that would've killed the man. Ace's older self collapsed. Luffy caught him. Meaningless words poured from his mouth, apologies that never reached Ace's ears._

_"Thank you . . . For loving me!"_

_Luffy screamed, a scream that Ace never wanted to hear again, his strawhat fell off his head onto the cold, bloddy ground next to him. Then the world faded. Gone. Nowhere to be found. _

_He was dead, just like his older self. _

_No way to return, floating on broken promises and empty wishes. _

_Was there a way to change this?_

* * *

Ace bolted up in his bed, hitting something with his head. His chest was heaving and his eyes were wild. Just what the hell just happened? He looked around and found he was back in the hideout that Ace, Luffy and Sabo made a while back and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Ouch!" Two smaller hands gripped a bump forming on the younger kids head. Luffy looked up at him with small tears in his eyes, but he didn't seem to really care about his injury. "Ace! Are you okay? What happened? You were thrashing and screaming in your sleep! Me 'n Sabo didn't know what to do!"

"Seriously," Sabo took his hat off his head and dusted it off. "Don't scare us like that, Ace. We thought you were having a seizer or something like that."

Luffy looked at both of the brothers with those wide, curious and innocent bug eyes. "What's a seizer?"

"Nothing," Sabo quickly answered, whereas Ace said, "When someone's body starts to randomly spazz. It can be fatal."

Sabo punched Ace on the head, and Ace growled at his brother. "I'm fine, other that the fact that Sabo punched me on the head." He glared at Sabo and received a glare right back. "It was just a bad dream."

Sabo snorted. "A bad dream? You were screaming and nearly crying. That was more than a bad dream, and if it was just a bad dream then that was some god-awful dream. What happened?"

Ace pulled his knees to his chest, remembering Luffy's scream. He shut his eyes for a few seconds before opening them and looking Sabo straight in the eyes. "Nothing important."

"Brothers don't keep secrets from each other." Sabo reminded him.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered right next to the blonde-haired brother. "Ace, we just want to help you! What'd you see?"

"I said it was nothing!" Ace snapped, unconsciously curling into a ball, trying to protect him from the memories. He didn't want his brothers to know that he just dreamed of himself _dying. _He didn't want them to think that he was a damn lunatic and leave him so that he was all alone again.

"Ace, please! We want to help." Sabo was practically begging him. Luffy stood beside him just looking confused as hell, probably thinking, 'if it's nothing, then why does Sabo want to know?'

This boy, his Luffy that stood right in front of him, was _not _the same Luffy that was running through the marines, punching and kicking everything in his sight. Luffy was strong, but those people were not run-of-the-mill thugs. Elite marines were anything but that.

Ace caved at Sabo's request. He couldn't keep things from his brothers, he knew that, yet, why did he bother trying? Ace traces the folded lines of his pants, not looking either brother in the eyes. "It was a dream. I was at some marine base or something like that. I was stuck in place, I couldn't move my feet. A war was taking place exactly where I stood; there was a lot of blood, guns, cannons and _pirates. _It was a battle with marines and pirates, and it looked like the marines were winning. No one noticed me, I was invisible. The people that touched me only passed right through me. Then, these two people pushed past the marines. I think they called them 'Hiken ' and Mugiwara'."

"Strawhat and Fire-fist?" Sabo frowned, glancing at Luffy's strawhat out of the corner of his eyes. Both brothers were listening like their lives depended on it. "Do you think it was a pirate name?"

"Yeah, I do." Ace nodded. "But the thing it, when I could make out their faces, they were _us, _Sabo. It was me and Luffy, running for our lives, being chased by marines."

"What do you mean?" Sabo asked, clearly confused by this new development. Luffy, on the other hand, seemed exited about it and he kept on blabbering about how amazing and cool it would be to go 'beat up marines' and 'fight with Ace' and other stuff like that.

"Luffy, shut up!" This wasn't the time and Ace did _not _want to deal with his brother. He was stressed and tried and scared, not that he'd admit that to anyone, especially over a dream. "I mean that the two people were me and Luffy! We were older and stronger, Luffy actually knew how to use his fruit, and—and." Ace threw his hands up in the air. "Urg! I don't know! Everything was blurry and fire was everywhere! I could hardly make out anything."

Suddenly Ace stopped moving, and he glanced at his chest, right where the hole should be. Right were the hole _will _be.

_"Thank you . . . for loving me!"_

"And I died, Sabo. I died."

* * *

**Long awaited story is finally revealed! Unexpected Emergencies will be posted soon, so don't worry! I'm not quite done with the prologue for that story yet ^_^ **

**Also, if you want another story to be written by me, PM me or send me a review! I also have a poll on my profile for more stories that I may write.**

**Alright. I'm going to say in the dream, that I couldn't write about Ace's death in detail. -; That's why it ended where it ended. Nope, I have had enough of Ace dying. Ace is my favorite character, and he's not going to die. Nope. Nope. Not going to happen, in this story and all my other stories at least. **


	2. A fire's time

It had been a week since the first incident. Luffy clung to Ace as if he were going to die here and not just in the dream, Sabo started complaining about not being in the dream, and Ace just continued to have them most bizarre dreams in the world, from floating islands to giant goldfish that pooped out islands. It didn't matter how weird or impossible something was, it always happened. And either Luffy or Ace was always the cause.

Ace kicked a pebble in front of him as he continued to walk silently along the path with his two brothers. Sabo and Luffy were chatting about something that Ace wasn't really listening to while running all over the place.

"Why are his dreams always about you and him?" Sabo complained to Luffy for probably the hundredth time this week. He seemed majorly disappointed that _he _wasn't in them. Luffy had suggested that he'd probably died (He got a few bumps on the head for that comment) and Ace had said that he was too stupid for his brain to handle (Again, the result was some bumps on the head).

"You're going to hurt me if I say what my idea is." Luffy complained, rubbing his head like he could still feel the sting of the bump. "Last time I said it, you nearly threw me off a cliff!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"SHUT UP!" Ace hit both of them on the head, leaving them on the groan moaning in pain. Their bickering was starting to get as bad as his and Luffy's. Ace not understood why Sabo liked to hit them.

Little Luffy looked up at Ace, tears threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes. "Ace~ that hurt! Why'd you do that?"

Ace suddenly felt the urge to go up and hug his brother and say I'm sorry. Then he blinked in confusion, sense when had he thought like that? Luffy was an annoying brat who always followed him and Sabo around. They might be brothers, but Ace wasn't about to cuddle the younger in his arms.

"Shut up!" Ace repeated, but it lacked the usual bark. "You were both being annoying!"

"You still didn't have to hit us." Sabo rubbed his sore head, glaring at Ace. Ace wasn't even fazed. Sabo's glare was nothing compared to others that he had seen, so it didn't bother him that much anymore.

"I'm hungry," Luffy complained, clutching his stomach as if he were about to fall over and die of hunger. "When's lunch time?"

Sabo looked at his little brother as if he were concerned for his mental health. "Luffy, we had lunch, like, ten minutes ago. How can you be hungry?"

"He's a freaking bottomless pit," Ace grumbled, his shoulders sagged and his bangs covering his face. "This shouldn't be surprising."

Sabo blinked and jumped over a stray rock that was in his path. "Well yeah, but he usually waits 15 minutes or so before he starts complaining."

"What's the difference?"

"Five minutes."

"Smartass."

Sabo snorted, but he had a small smile on his face as if he were enjoying the argument. "I don't want to here that coming from you."

Just as Ace was about to tackle his brother to the ground, Luffy interrupted his by saying. "What's a smartass? Can you eat it?"

Both Sabo and Ace burst out laughing, forgetting everything that happened a few seconds ago. The effect that Luffy had on both of his brothers was amazing and yet, he doesn't even realize he's doing it. One moment, they'd be at each other's throats, the next they're both laughing at something stupid that came out of Luffy's mouth.

"Technically you can eat it, considering it's a term used to describe a person." Sabo tried to explain to the simple-minded boy. "So, you'd be eating the person that is described as a smartass."

"So Ace is a smartass? I can eat him?" The small boy look too exited for Ace's tastes.

Sabo laughed. "Sure!"

"No."

The blonde boy then scratched his chin. "Well, maybe not. Ace would taste horrible."

"Oi," Ace glared at both of the now giggling boys. "Why the hell would you even _think _about eating me? Or people for the matter?"

Luffy just shrugged in a Luffy-like way. "Because I'm always hungry."

* * *

Ace stared at the ceiling of the fort the brothers had built. It seemed like such a long time ago that they ago that they had gotten together and created their haven. This fort may have seemed insignificant to others, they probably though that this was just some stupid kid's doing, but for Ace, Sabo and Luffy this place was the place that held their dreams.

Beside him, both of his brothers were sound asleep, soring to their hearts content. They didn't even realize that Ace was still awake, unable to fall asleep, hiding in fear from the dreams that haunted him.

Ever since his 'death' as Sabo and Luffy had dubbed it, the dreams had been at random. They had always came, but some were good and happy, while others were awful and made Ace wake up in cold sweat. They were always so, _so _vivid, that it made Ace think that he was staring through someone's eyes. Sometimes, he even told himself that these weren't dreams; they were reality. Then he'd laugh at himself, and say that it was stupid.

The only other thing that these dreams had in common was the fact that they were always about himself or Luffy. Sabo had not once appeared and sometimes there were people that Ace didn't recognize, like the man with pineapple-like hair, or a huge old man that had a white banana mustache.

He wanted to know why. Ace wanted to know why _he _was having these dreams. He wanted to know what they were about; why he was seeing them. He didn't want this, but yet when did he ever get what he wanted? He was the son of a demon who deserved to rot in hell.

_"Thank you . . . For loving me!" _

Ace already knew that he would.

* * *

_Ace was standing on a building when he opened his eyes again. Ocean stretched around it, and despite not know exactly where he was, he knew he was in a government building. _

_But it wasn't 'peaceful' like most government buildings. Fires were raging behind him, screaming was heard and the cries of gunshots rang out. Ace felt like he was back to his first dream all over again, and he hated it. _

_"ROBIN!" Someone cried. He didn't notice the other people until now. They all had their back facing him, except for the people on the other side of the river. Not that he noticed them, he could pin point his brother's signature strawhat on the back on one of the figures. Ace guessed that it was his brother's older doppelganger who Ace had come to know as 'Mugiwara no Luffy'. Ace just ended up calling him Mugiwara since he refused to use his brother's name. The other, Ace didn't know the names of, but he recognized them from other dreams. _

_There was a green-haired swordsman, an orange haired girl carrying a staff, a huge animal-human of some sorts, a weird man in a mask and a blonde hair man who looked downright furious. _

_"I STILL HAVEN'T HEARD IT FROM YOUR MOUTH!" Mugiwara continued to yell. "SAY YOU WANT TO LIVE!"_

_Ace could feel the tension in the air, and he could tell that most of it was coming from the burning flag that sat on top of the building in front of the one Ace was currently at. Mugiwara and a woman with black hair seemed t have a silent standoff, except the woman was crying. _

_Ace couldn't tell if it was either from happiness or sadness. _

_There was a pause; no one spoke, no one moved until the woman screamed, "I WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME OUT TO SEA WITH YOU!"_

_And Ace could practically feel the smirk radiate off her savior. _

* * *

Instead of waking up, like Ace usually did after a dream, he found himself floating in space, clocks surrounding him. Literally. Ace blinked in surprise. Surely he should be back with his real brother and not another creepy dream? Ace didn't know how much more of them he could handle in one sitting.

"Time is such a precious thing, isn't it Ace?" Ace whirled around in surprise_, _a gasp escaping his lips. Someone saw him? Where they even talking to him? But there was no one else with him.

Or so he thought.

Standing in front of him was an elderly man; a long white beard decorated his face. He had a kind smile that was full of wrinkles. Ace didn't know why, but he like this man. Something about him was comforting like a mother or a kind father.

"There's not too much of it, and there's not too little," The elderly man continued, the smile never leaving his face. "Time is forever, yet it doesn't even last a second. Time hurts and it heals. It's sort of like the angel and the demon, huh?" The man laughed at his own joke and didn't even let Ace answer before he went right back to his lecture. "Time creates emotion, but it doesn't have emotion. Time gives life, but it doesn't have a life. Time grows, expands makes things new. It goes with the age. It has a set of rules that can't be broken, yet here I am, talking to you while breaking one of the rules to help a friend with their pain."

A pool of dread settled in Ace's stomach. He didn't like where this was going.

"He's one of a kind, that's for sure," The man's smile never wavered. "He's always smiling, though time has not been kind to him. He's always laughing even though he lost so much. I've never met such a selfless person in all my life! He even helped a kind old man like me play poker of all things!"

This man was a freaking lunatic, Ace thought, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for the man to continue rambling.

Suddenly the man stopped laughing. "I helped him as much as I could, but I can't do everything. You need to protect him. Help him fulfill his last wish, his last dream. You hold the key for him to return to your time, Ace."

"Wha—?"

The old man held out a small, golden stopwatch. Ace was skeptical at first, then he snorted and figured that this was just a dream caused by bad crocodile meat and took the golden stopwatch. The man's smile turned into a full-blown grin.

He clapped two hands together. "Perfect! Just perfect! Everything is right on time! Now, I need you to got greet you're older brother, okay little child? Make this event very . . . _interesting." _

"Older—?"

The man cackled, interrupting Ace once again. "I doubt you know how to use that stopwatch," He gestured to the stopwatch in Ace's hand. "But you'll find out in time! Your brothers will help you of course, though you have to be extra carful. If my friend does what he says he's going to do, then there will be consequences. Also, keep an eye on that smart blonde brother you have because sometimes you can't always change time the way you want to."

"Ossan, you're insane."

The man laughed, holding his belly. "You say that now, Acey. But wait until you wake up. I'm sure that my _friend _will be waiting for you. You just have to find him."

* * *

**DONE. HA**

**PROCRASTINATION**

**Okay, Okay. So, how do you guys like the second chapter of Shattered? Older Luffy will appear in the next chapter xD **

**Okay, if you're following 'Changing the Future' I seriously need to say sorry xD I haven't updated that thing in like . . . Forever. I don't have an excuse, and I've only written like, 700 words. But hopefully I'll force myself to write more. IM DOING SABO'S STORY BEXT!**

**Also, if you ever have any one-shit story ideas, tell me! I'll write then if I like them :)**


	3. Shattered Glass

**I'm just going to shamelessly advertise here. **

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**__****Now shoo. Go read their fics ~**

* * *

Ace was acting weird. Okay, maybe he was always acting weird, but this whole dream thing was seriously getting to him. It was affecting the way he talked, the way he walked and heck, even the way he ate. He didn't spend as much time with his brothers anymore and he seemed to either sleep a lot or avoid sleep. Sometimes he called out names while he dreamed—mostly Luffy's but there were others that weren't recognizable.

Sabo noticed all of this.

Being the older brother (mentally) he had to notice these things, or else he couldn't call himself a brother. Of course, he didn't really care if Ace or Luffy would notice theses things because he knew they couldn't. It was physically impossible for Ace and Luffy to think properly. Sabo had noted this a long, _looooooong _time ago and blamed genetics and Garp. Mostly Garp.

He stared at the sleeping form of both of his brothers as the early sun peaked from the mountains. The blonde knew it wouldn't be long before Luffy woke up, most likely in the loudest and most annoying way possible, and Ace would surely follow assuming he didn't have any more nightmares. It was a fifty-fifty change that he'd wake up with a terrified expression on his face or wake up demanding food.

Luffy was currently cuddling his strawhat (Sabo swore that thing was invincible) while mumbling about pirates, meat and freedom. His black hair was all over his face, yet he had a peaceful smile like he was enjoying what he was dreaming about. Sabo seriously hoped that he wasn't dreaming about anything that Ace had dreamed of. He didn't want both of his brothers to have these strange dreams while he was left in the dark.

Ace gave them the gist of what was happening in his dreams, but he rarely gave the details. Sabo had resorted the 'brother's don't tell secrets from each other' card that Ace had used on his not to long ago to find out about his noble parents.

Suddenly, without warning, the 7-year-old bolted out of his bed, siting straight up and before Sabo could even comprehend what was happening Luffy uttered two words that made Sabo want to face palm. "I'm hungry."

Of course. Right. Idiot 7-year-old who can't think of anything other than food. Who would've though that he even had the time to think before this? It was amazing that his brother didn't wake up earlier.

Sabo sighed, running his hand through his curly blonde hair. Well, there goes his peaceful morning for now. "Come on, Luffy. You do that every day. Stop."

The seven-year old rubbed his eyes, a yawn escaping his mouth. He clutched the straw hat in one hand like he always did when he wasn't quite sure what was going on in reality. "Do what?"

" . . . Never mind."

"I'm hungry," The boy repeated again, looking at his older brother with eyes that looked like a kicked puppy. Luffy grabbed his stomach as if he hadn't eaten for weeks and a desperate look flashed across the younger's face. Another yawn escaped his lips just as his stomach made a loud roar that would no doubt scare away any animals within half a mile. For a second Sabo imagined his brother as an orchestra before he whipped the thought out of his mind.

God, why was the midget always so freaking adorable?

"Wait until Ace wakes up. And you can't wake him up yourself!" He called when he noticed Luffy inching over to Ace's cot, possibly to jump on Ace's stomach. Sabo just didn't want to deal with an angry Ace and a hyperactive Luffy.

It was for the sanity of all of them.

* * *

The older man's eyes shot open, a feeling of unease washed over him like a blanket. The drink that he was originally drinking was shattered all over the floor. The man didn't know why—but he laughed. It was just a shattered drink right? Nothing to worry about.

Yet that still didn't help his growing feeling of dread.

The man shook his head stubbornly, trying to rid himself of these pessimistic thoughts. He was strong goddammit! He wasn't a wuss like so many years ago—in fact he never remembered one time that he was a wuss about anything.

A small smile graced the man's face causing wrinkles to crease. He remembered all the teasing he had to go through. His captain wasn't very mature was he? They use to tease each other all the time about who was more scared, the captain or the first mate? The other crewmates would just sit back and watch as they did the most stupid things.

It felt almost nostalgic. He hadn't seen his captain or his crewmates for years and he doubted he'd ever see them again. He _knew _that he'd never see his captain again, so why was he still dreaming about them?

But even though he'd never admit it; he knew why.

The old man sat back in his seat with a sigh, his silver hair draping over his shoulders. He put a hand up to his forehead and reflected about things that had happened. He knew that he was distracting himself, but he couldn't help it. He'd eventually find out about the feeling weather he liked it or not. The man didn't believe in coincidences.

The door to the kitchen slammed open, but it didn't startle the man. He removed his hand and watched as the dark haired woman that was now pretty much his only company looked from him to the shattered glass on the floor.

_Shattered?_

He almost laughed; that one word described all of his feelings in a few short letters. He was lost for the first time in his long life and he knew he didn't like it—it felt too much like a mystery. He and his captain never liked mysteries.

"Come on now," The woman interrupted the older man's musings. He looked up at her scolding face and he gave a smirk, already knowing that he was about to get a lecture on not to smash the glass. "Did you really have to do that? Goddamit that's the second time this week!"

The man gave a light, weak chuckle letting his worries slip out the window.

For now, at least.

"Sorry." The smile on the old man's face never faded. "It must have slipped."

The woman rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her face and the man knew that he might be able to worm himself out of this situation with ease. She was always like this—young yet relatively calm. The man might get a scolding once in a while, but it was 'for the best' as she put it.

"Slipped, huh?" The woman bent down and started picking up the piece in her hand. The man didn't make a move to help her—not that he was being rude or anything, he knew that he'd just get in the way. "I think that you broke it."

"Really?" The man fake innocence, the smirk never left his face once. What? No one said he had to be a good actor. He just had to get on the woman's good side and he was set. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Flew right out the window the minute I walked in, right?"

The man laughed, throwing his head back and letting the world know that even though he'd lost a lot, he was still truly happy. "You have no idea."

"Do I now?" The woman's eyes sparkled and just like that the man knew that he'd get out of this one alive. He didn't really want to be stuck here cleaning the bar when he could be doing other things like getting more money using his _special _ways.

"I'm pretty sure you don't."

"I bet it was like last time too. You were thinking about _him _weren't you?"

The man sight, running his slim fingers that held too many scars through his silver hair. She was right but then again she was _always _right. Even though she was still young she had experienced a lot of things that most people her age wouldn't even want to hear about.

"How could I not?" The man asked honestly. "His last words weren't very clear."

"What would be the fun in that?" The woman stood up again, holding the glass shards close to her chest. She walked over to the counter and dumped the glass in a trashcan that was hidden from view. "Captain loved to have fun."

"Yeah but," The man frowned. "He hated mysteries. _I _hate mysteries. So why give me one?"

The woman simply shrugged. "You know how he was. I only know the details. I never met him, remember?"

The old man snorted. "You're too young to know him."

"I know that."

"So why act like you know him?"

The woman's dark eye seemed to piece into his skull. "The same reason you lie over shattered glass; because something might come out of it."

* * *

**Guesses on who the old man was? No? Okay. **

**And sorry about the late and short update. I was originally going to introduce Luffy in this chapter, but due to being grounded for 3 weeks I didn't have the time to add that part into this chapter. Don't worry though! He'll ****_have _****to come in the next chapter. **

**And if you haven't guessed, yes. This chapter is important. No you may not forget it and yes it does have to do with the title of this fic.**


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